Electric ironer



May 11, 1943. w. A. SPEAR ELECTRIC IRONER Filed Nov. 12, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVQENTOR ATT N May 11, 1943. w, SPEAR ELECTRIC IRONER Filed NOV. 12, 1:938

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mum) a.

INVENTOR BY ZTTQREEY May 11, 1943.

w. A. SPEAR ELECTRIC IRONER Filed Nov. 12, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet a ME Q INVENTOR RN Y 3 as ea 0 m m k man Patented May 11, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 12, 1938, Serial No. 239,927

13 Claims.

This invention relates to electric ironers and more particularly to the control mechanism thereof.

An object of this invention is to provide a duo-functional control mechanism having a hand operating position and a knee operating position, the hand operating position being adapted to lock the control mechanism, the knee operating position being automatically releasable.

Another object of this invention is to provide a delayed action mechanism for interconnecting the ironing roll to the motor drive to give the operator an opportunity to manually manipulate the work between the time that the ironing elements are moved into engagement with each other and the beginning of the rotation of the ironing roll.

Another object of this invention is to provide a control mechanism with a delayed action mechanism, which control mechanism closes the switch through the motor at the same time that the ironing elements are brought into contact with each other, and instituting the operation of the delayed action mechanism, which mechanism after the expiration of the time delay period causes a relative movement between the ironing elements. 1

Another object of this invention is to provide a portable table model ironing machine that is cheap, eflicient, strong, durable and economical to operate.

Other objects andadvantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, I Figure 1 discloses a perspective front view of the ironing machine with the control lever in the down or knee actuating position.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, fragmentary, cross sectional view taken through the gear box and substantially the center of the roll.

' Figure 3 is a fragmentary, cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 3--'3 of Figure 4, so as to disclose the toggle actuating mechanism.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, detail view of the ironing element and its support.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view of the ironing element mounting, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 5, without showing in section the ironing element and the roll.

Figure '7 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the wiring of the motor and of the ironing element.

The electric ironer is mounted on a sheet metal base or bed 20 provided with a downwardly projecting peripheral flange 22 seated in a rubber cushioning strip 24. A pair of reenforcing angle bars 25 are welded to the underside of the base 20. An upwardly projecting standard 30 is provided with a flange 32 overlying a plate 26. This standard 30 is provided with a boss 36 that rigidly supports a tubular sleeve 34 press-fitted into position. The outer end of the tubular sleeve 34 supports a bushing 40, in which is journalled a drive shaft 42. This drive shaft is driven from the motor 44 through a suitable gear reducing mechanism and a time delay coupling device, which will be more fully described later.

The end of the drive shaft 42, projecting beyond the sleeve 34 supports a collar 50 fixedly attached to a disc 52 supporting the roll 56 near its center. The collar 50 is provided with a suitable aperture registering with an aperture in the shaft 42, receiving a suitable cotter pin 58, so as to provide a driving connection between the shaft 42 and the roller 56. One end of the roller 56 is provided with a disc 60 journalled upon the tubular sleeve 34, so as to permit the end of the roll 56 to be rotatably supported upon the tubular sleeve 34.

The motor 44 is mounted upon a channel member 10 through a plurality of rubber snubbers or grommets 72. The channel member Til has its base mounted upon the gear box or casing 14, supported in spaced relation from the stand- Md 3!], through a plurality of bosses l6 integral with the standard 30. As may best be seen by referring to Figure 2, the armature shaft of the'mtor-iis connected through a flexible rubber coupling to a stub shaft 8i supporting a pinion 82, only the hub of which is visible in Figure 2. The pinion 82 is located to the rear of a'gear 84. The pinion 82 meshes with the gear 84, which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 86- and fixedly attached to'a pinion 88. The pinion 88 drives a gear 90 fixedly attached to a pinion 92, driving a gear 94 attached to a pinion 96, meshing with a gear 93, fixedly attached to member I00, journalled in a bearing T02, mounted in the wall I04 of the casing 14. Member IEO has threads adjacent one end engaging internal threads in a bushing H0 receiving the threaded end of the shaft 42. The end of the shaft 42 is provided with a socket receiving a ball bearing H2 abutting a second ball bearing H4 seated in a suitable socket in the end of member I00. The ball bearings H2 and II 4 provide a single point contact between member I and the shaft 42, so as to permit the unscrewing of the shaft 42 from the bushing or sleeve IIO. This structure forms a delayed action mechanism. The operation of the delayed action mechanism will be described more fully later.

The bed supports a bracket I20 provided with a recess I2I, shown by dotted lines in Fig.- ure 5. One end of a shaft I22 is positioned in the recess I2I. The shaft I22 is journalled in the bracket 30. A collar I24 is fixedly attachedto the shaft I22 and abuts bracket to limit themovement of shaft I22 within predetermined tolerances. The shaft I22 has fixedly mounted thereon an arm I30 held in position by a transverse key I3I. The arm I30 is provided with an offset portion I32, supporting a set screw or wing screw I34 adjustably engaging an arm I36 rotatably mounted upon the shaft I22. This arm I36 projects between a pair of brackets I40, one on either side of the arm, and is pivotally mounted thereto by a suitable bolt or stub shaft I42. The brackets I40 are mounted upon a leaf spring I46, the ends of which support the ironing element I through a suitable resilient coupling unit. .This coupling unit includes a bolt I52 fixedly attached to the ironing element by a suitable lock nut I56. The outer end of the bolt I52 projects through a cup-shaped member I58, the leaf spring I46 and a guide member I54. These parts are held in position by a suitable nut I62 screwed upon the outer end of the bolt I52. A spring I is mounted intermediate the ironing element I50 and the cup-shaped member I58, so asto resiliently hold the ironing element I50 in spaced relation from the leaf spring I46; The ironing element I50 is provided with a suitable heating element I5I, through a pair of leads, passing through a conduit I10. The tension of the ironing element exerted against the roll 56 may be adjusted by the wing screw I34. The ironing element I50 may be moved into engagement with the roll 56 or moved away from the roll by actuating mechanism or control mechanism, which will now be described.

The rock shaft I22 has fixedly attached to one of its ends an arm or link I80, as best seen in Figure 4. This arm I terminates in a pin I82 connected to a toggle mechanism moving in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll 56. This toggle mechanism includes a link I84, pivotally attached at I86 to a second link I88 pivoted at I90 to a bracket I96. The pivot 186 of the toggle mechanism is connected-by a link 200 to an arm 204 mounted upon a stub shaft 206 journalled in a bracket 208.

The shaft 206 projects outwardly and is provided with a pin 2| 0. The shaft 206 may be rocked 'or oscillated by a crank 220 supporting a collar or sleeve 222, provided with a pair of diametrical notches straddling the pin 2I0. As the pin 2I0 extends diametrically throughthe shaft 206, the lever 220 may be mounted for an up position or for a down position. When in the up position, the lever has free movement, permitting the toggle mechanism to swing through dead center until it engages a suitable stop 226 mounted upon or integral with the standard 36. When the toggle mechanism swings past dead center, the ironing element is resilenergized diately upon the lever being rotated so as to swing the toggle mechanism back through dead center, the resiliency of the springs I46 and I60 has a tendency to snap the toggle mechanism into open position, so as to permit the ironing element to move away from the roll 56.

The collar 222 is provided with a suitable stop 230 engaging an abutment 232, limiting the movement of the lever 220 when it is in the down and knee operating position. When in the down position, the lever may be moved in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, so as to move the toggle mechanism toward dead center, the stop 230 engaging the abutnfent 232 just as the toggle mechanism approaches dead center, so that immediately upon the release of the pressure of the knee against the lever 220, the ironing element springs out of engagement with the ironing roll 56. Thus, it is seen, that the lever 220, when in the up and hand or manually operating position, swings the toggle mechanism through dead center, so as to lock the ironing element in engagement with the roll, and when in the down position it releasably hold the ironing element against the roll. The lever 220 and the toggle mechanism swinging in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll provide an effective control for the operation of the ironing element either manually or by a knee movement.

A floating arm or bracket 240 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 206 and is provided with an extension 242, extending into the path of the link 204. The upper end of the bracket 240 carries a stud 244 mounted for movement into the path of a push button 246 of an electric switch 250 connected in series with the motor circuit as clearly shown schematically in Figure 7. The push button 246 is normally urged outwardly by a spring not shown, so as to open the switch 250 whenever the pressure upon the push button 246 is released. The floating arm 240 is mounted for movement with the movement of the toggle mechanism, which movement is accomplished by a iently held against the ironing rollby the leaf spring I46 and the coil springs I60. Immespring 252, urging the bracket 240 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, whenever the link mechanism is moved in the same direction, until stud 244 has actuated the push button 246 into closed position, when further movement of the floating arm and the stud 244 is arrested by the push button 246, which is permissible as the bracket 240 is actuated in one direction by the spring 252. The swtich 250 which is mounted upon a bracket 260, either integral or attached to the standard 30, is positioned to close the circuit through the motor at the same time that the stop 230 engages the abutment 232, so that in the event the lever 220 is in the knee operating position, the motor circuit is closed simultaneously with the arresting of the movement of the lever 220. Immediately upon releasing the pressure exerted against the lever 220, the-circuit through the motor is interrupted and the ironing element is moved out of contact with the roll.

that the switch through the motor is closed whether the movement of the toggle mechanism is arrested before it reaches dead center or after it passes dead center.

A switch 262 is connected in series with the ironing element and is controlled by a switch 1e ver 264, projecting through the casing 266 enclosing the motor, the, toggle mechanism and the switching apparatus. The switch 262 is operated independently of the control mechanism. operating the ironing element and does not in any manner influence the motor circuit. In other words, the motor and the heating element of the ironer are connectedin-parallel, so that the motor switch may be closed independently of the switch to the heater element and vice versa. The circuit through the motor 40 controlled by the switch 250 and the circuit through the heating element I5I have been. clearly shown in Figure 7.

The casing 266 proyides an enclosure for the working mechanism that enhances the artistic beauty of the ironer. The end of the roll 56 is arranged in spaced relation from the standard 30, so that in the event thegoods to be ironed are too wide for the roll 56, the material may project beyond either end of the roll without serious interference.

Mode of operation Normally, when the ironer is not in use, the ironing element or ironing shoe is out of engagement with the roll 56. In order to iron properly, the ironing element should be hot before the ironing is commenced. By closing the switch 262 for a suitable period of time before the ironing is started, the ironing shoe is heated to the desired temperature. No injury is done to the fabric wrapping of the roll 56 while the ironing element is being heated, as long as the ironing element is arranged in spaced relation from the roll.

When the ironing element I56 has reached the desired temperature, the operator places the work to be ironed with the leading edge on top of the roll 56, then manually rotates the roll slightly, so as to locate the leading edge of the work to be ironed between the ironing element I56 and the roll 56. When the roll 56 is rotated so as to cause the leading edge of the work to be positioned between the roll and the ironing element, the delay period of the delayed action mechanism is determined, which period is dependent upon the amount of unscrewing of the roll. While the work is in this position the operator may actuate the lever 220 manually, so as to swing the toggle through dead center to lock the ironing element x in contact with the roll and at the same time close the switch 259 through the motor. The motor now begins to rotate and screw the shaft 42 into driving engagement with the driving mechanism. While this delayed action mechanism is screwing the shaft 42 into position. the operator may straighten up the goods on top of the ironer. Sh is then free to use her hands even after the roller starts, to advance the goods through the ironer, as the lever 220 has been actuated into position so as to lock the ironing element in en-- gagement with the roll 56. As the goods advance through the ironing machine, the guides @54- guide the ironed goods towards the iront of the ironing machine. As soon as the goods are advanced through th machine, the operator may manually release the ironing element 556 from engagement with the roll 56 by actuating the lever 22!], which causes the circuit through the motor to be interrupted, thereby stopping the rotation of the. roll 56. The machine. is, again ready for the next piece to b ironed. The same operation may be repeated.

For some types of work and under certain :conditions, it is very desirable to have both hands available for manipulating the work to be ironed and at the same time have absolute control of the machine, so as to release the ironing element from. engagement with the roll 56 and so as to stop the rotation of the roll at any instant that it may be desirable to do so. This may be accomplished by changing the lever 220 from the "up position to the down position. When in the down position the ironing element I is always out of engagement with the roll 56, whenever there is no pressure exerted against the lever 226. The operator may lay the goods on top of the roll 56, rotate the roll a short distance so as to cause the leading edge of the goods to be ironed to advance on the roll under the ironing element, without removing the hands from the work. The operator may actuate the lever 226 by her knee, so as to cause the toggle mechanism to actuate the ironing element I56 into engagement with the roll 56 and at the same time close the circuit through the motor by closing the switch 250, moving her knee against the lever 226 while the goods to be ironed advance through the ironing machine. At any time that it may be desired to stop the operation of the ironing machine, she may do so by releasing her pressure of the knee upon the lever 226. The ironing may be resumed by again actuating the lever 22!] by the pressure of the knee, so as to cause the ironing element to move into engagement with the roll 56 and close the circuit through the motor.

The leaf spring I46 and the two coils I66 permit portions of the ironing element to be resiliently urged away from the roll 56 in the event more material advances through the ironing machine on one portion of the ironer than on some other portion. Especially is this the case when the material near one end of the roll is thicker than adjacent the opposite end.

Time delay mechanism, as used in the claims, designates a mechanism which permits a relative movement between the driving mechanism and the ironing roll for a period of time sufficient for the operator of the machine to advance the ironing element into engagement with the roll and allow the operator sufficient time to grasp the material to be ironed with both hands before the roll begins rotation. In the particular embodiment disclosed, this is accomplished by displacement of the roll with respect to its driving mechanism through a substantial fraction of a revolution of the roll.

Although the preferred modification of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts which gen? erally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, in the novel parts, combination of parts and mode of operation, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an ironing machine having an ironing element mounted for movement into and out of engagement with a rotatably mounted roll driven by an electric motor, the combination including a time delay mechanism for interconnecting the motor through the roll. an electric switch in the motor circuit and control means for simultaneously moving the ironing element into engagement with the roll and closing the circuit through the electric motor, said control means including a toggle mechanism mounted for movement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll and in a direction normal to the movement 'of the ironing element, for moving th ironing element into contact with the roll and for closing the switch to the motor, said time delay mechanism causing the roller to be driven by the motor at the expiration of the time delay period that begins when the control means actuates the ironing element'into engagement with the roll.

-2.-In an ironing machine having an ironing element mounted for movement into and out of engagement with a rotatably mounted roll driven by an electric motor, the combination including control means for actuating the ironing element into and out of engagement with said roll, said control means including a toggle mechanism mounted for movement past center into engagement with a stop for locking the ironing element in engagement with the roll, and a lever for actuating the control means, said lever having an up and'hand operating position for swinging the toggle mechanism past center so as to lock the ironing element in engagement with the roll, said lever also having a clown and knee operating position and a stop mounted in the path of the lever when in the knee operating position for arresting its movement when the toggle mechanism has actuated the ironing element into engagement with the roll but before the toggle mechanism has advanced past dead center, so that as the pressure of the knee against the lever is released, the ironing element moves out of engagement with the roll. 7

3. In an ironing machine having an ironing element mounted for movement into and out of engagement with a rotatably mounted roll driven by an electric motor, actuatingmeans for actuating the ironing element into engagement with the roll, said actuating means including a toggle mechanism and a stop associated with the toggle mechanism permitting the toggle mechanism to swing past dead center and arresting its movement so as to lock the ironing element in engagement with the roll, a spring associated with the toggle mechanism tending to move the ironing element out of engagement with the roll, an actuating device having a hand operating position and a knee operating position, and a stop associated with the actuating device for arresting its movement when in the knee operating position before the toggle mechanism passes through dead center, so that the actuating device when in the hand operating position swings the toggle past dead center so as to lockthe ironing element in engagement with the roll and when in the knee operating position permitting the ironing element to be released from the roll immediately upon the release of the pressure of the knee from the actuating device.

4. In a table model ironing machine having an ironing element mounted for movement into and out of engagement with a rotatably mounted roll driven by an electric motor, actuating means for actuating the ironing element into and out of engagement with the roll, said actuating means including a toggle mechanism including members oscillated in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll and normal to the direction of movement of the ironing element, and a duofunctional lever for actuating said actuating means, said duo-functional oscillatory lever having a hand operating position swinging the toggle mechanism through dead center so as to lock the ironing element in engagement with the roll, said lever also having a knee operating position, said lever oscillating in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, and a stop associated with the lever when in the knee operating position so as to arrest its movement before the toggle mechanism passes through dead center to permit the ironing element to be released from the roll immediately upon the release'of the pressure of the knee against the lever in the knee operating position.

5. In a table model ironing machine having an ironing element mounted for movement into and out of engagement with 'a rotatably mounted roll driven by an electric motor, the combination including control means having a toggle device for actuating the ironing element into engagement and out of engagement with the roll, said toggle mechanism including oscillatory members moving in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, a stop associated with the toggle device for stopping the toggle device immediately upon passing 'dead center so as to lock the ironing element inengagement' with the roll, a spring urged switch mounted in the path of the toggle device and closed thereby when the toggle device approaches dead center, so as to close the circuit through the motor simultaneously with the movement of the ironing element into engagement with the roll.

6. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, control means for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control means including a lever and a shaft, said lever having a movement in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, said lever having two diametrically opposite positions, the one a hand operating position where the lever functions as a handle and the other a knee operating position where it functions as a knee operated pedal, and means for interconnecting the lever in either position to said shaft.

7. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, a control mechanism for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control mechanism including toggle means including oscillatory members swinging in a plane parallel to the longitudinal. axis of the roll, and actuating means interconnected tothe toggle means for actuating the same, said actuating means including an oscillatory lever having two positions, one a hand operating position and the other a knee operating position, interconnecting means for positively connecting said lever to said toggle. means, said interconnecting means holding the lever in a selected operating .position whereby the DSC11131: tion of the lever actuates the toggle means so as to move the ironing elements into engagement with each other and away from each other as the case may be.

8. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, control means for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control means including a lever having two alternate positions, one a hand operating position and the other a knee operating position, and locking means for holding the lever in either position.

9. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, control means for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control means including a lever having two alternate positions, one a hand operating position for locking the ironing elements in contact with each other and the other a knee operating position for releasably holding the ironing elements in contact with each other, and attaching means for holding the lever in fixed position relative to some of the rest of the control means.

10. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, control means for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control means including actuating means for actuating said control means, and a stop associated with said actuating means for optionally arresting the movement thereof said actuating means upon being arrested by said stop having a releasable position for releasably holding the ironing elements in contact with each other and a locked position independently of said stop for locking the ironing elements in contact with each other.

11. In a portable table model electric ironer having a pair of ironing elements including a roll, said ironing elements having a relative movement with respect to each other in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, control means for causing a relative movement between the ironing elements, said control means including actuating means for actuating said control means to lock the ironing elements in contact with each other, and stop means for optionally arresting the movement of said actuating means for releasably holding the ironing elements in contact with each other.

12. In a portable table model ironing machine having a rotatably mounted roll supported in spaced relation from a substantially rectangular base having the maximum length extending in parallel relation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the roll, the combination including an ironing element, means for mounting the ironing element for movement away from and toward the roll, means for actuating said mounting means, said means translating a movement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll into a movement in a direction normal thereto, and an actuating lever, means for optionally attaching the lever in an up position where it functions as a handle, said means also being adapted to attach the lever in a down position where it functions as a knee operator for actuating said actuating means, said lever oscillating in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll.

13. In a portable table model ironing machine having a rotatably mounted roll supported in spaced relation from a substantially rectangular base having the maximum length extending in parallel relation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the roll, the combination including an ironing element cooperating with the roll, a rocker arm for moving the ironing element out of and into engagement with the roll, a rock shaft for supporting the rocker arm, said rock shaft extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roll, actuating means for actuating said rock shaft, said actuating means including mechanism for translating oscillatory movement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis into oscillatory movement in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the roll, said means including a manually operable lever for actuating the ironing element into and. out of engagement with the roll.

WALTER A. SPEAR. 

